Bugs In Amber
by AMKelley
Summary: The way Sirius saw it was that he was already breaking the rules by being an unregistered Animagus, so what harm was there in turning into a dog to spy on one of his peers? Not just any peer, mind you, but a cute and shy Hufflepuff by the name of Newt Scamander. (modern Marauders AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Excerpts Newt reads are taken from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Also, this story is super AU trapped somewhere between the Marauders era and modern time.**

* * *

He was told never to turn into his Animagus unless it was that _time of the month_ where he, Wormtail, and Prongs had to keep Moony from running amuck as a Werewolf, but Sirius Black was never one for rules. The way Sirius saw it was that he was already breaking the rules by being an unregistered Animagus, so what harm was there in turning into a dog to spy on one of his peers? Not just any peer, mind you, but a cute and shy Hufflepuff by the name of Newt Scamander.

Everyday, like clockwork, Newt Scamander could be found in a more secluded area of Hogwarts underneath a solo tree with his nose stuck in a book and, as such, Sirius always made an excuse. He'd tell Prongs and the others that he'd catch up with them later because he had detention for something or another and they were none the wiser, though Sirius was pretty sure Remus knew what was really up. It was always hard to get one past Moony. Luckily for Sirius, Remus could keep a secret.

Afterwards, when he was sure the coast was clear, Sirius would skulk off somewhere in private and transform into his Animagus. In his dog form, Padfoot scampered off swiftly towards the field Newt was known to hide out at. Sometimes he'd run past other students, but they never paid him much attention. As far as they knew, he was just another one of Hagrid's beasts he kept around. Which was fine as long as neither James, Peter, or Remus caught him.

Newt would already be reading away by the time Padfoot came trotting up, clearly too wrapped up in the fictional world within his book to even notice the black dog dashing towards him excitedly. Even though Sirius made a conscious effort to join Newt almost everyday, the Hufflepuff always looked so surprised when he saw the incognito Gryffindor at his feet, wagging his tail.

"Oh! Hello there, boy," Newt greeted with that goofy, lopsided grin of his. He would usually reach out to pat Padfoot on the head.

Sirius would subconsciously lean into the contact, panting with exasperation as his wide tongue lolled out of his mouth lazily. Newt giggled at this, prompting Sirius to nuzzle at Newt's hand as he poked and prodded at the Hufflepuff with his wet nose. Sirius' Animagus instincts coupled with the fact that he had a crush on Newt didn't help to soften his eagerness.

"Yes, it's very nice to see you too, boy," Newt went on to say when the dog got a little too overzealous with his nuzzling.

Newt wiped his hand off on his trousers, regarding the friendly black dog with another warm smile before picking up his book once again. The Muggle literature Newt was indulging in today was titled Slaughterhouse Five. Why Newt was so fascinated with books written by Muggles was beyond Sirius' knowledge, but the Hufflepuff seemed to enjoy it just fine.

After awhile of Newt silently reading to himself Sirius got antsy, craving more attention from the cute and gentle soul that was Newt. Sirius barked at Newt, bringing the ginger out of his trance-like state with a pair of wide blue eyes. Sirius never barked at Newt before which knocked the bookworm for a loop, but this was surprisingly quelled by Newt's soft voice.

"What is it, boy?" Newt inquired with an empathetic tone, frowning slightly at the black dog's distress. "What's wrong?"

Padfoot whined impatiently, shuffling on his paws as he tried to convey what he wanted through pitiful cries and imploring eyes. Sirius inched forward and nudged at Newt's hand with his nose, whimpering to get his point across. Newt's face softened a bit when he got the hint and indulged Padfoot in good ruffling of his fur. This got a reaction out of Sirius, causing his tail to wag and Newt hummed thoughtfully.

"Better?" Newt asked, eyes twinkling.

Sirius barked happily, tongue hanging out once again as the top of his head was scratched by nimble fingers.

"You know, after all the times you've come to visit me, I still have no clue what to call you," Newt admitted in a dreamy, far off tone.

Newt sighed and went on to scratch behind Sirius' ears and stroke the raven fur down the length of his back. Eventually Newt's ministrations got Padfoot to relax so much that the Animagus rolled over on his back with the intent of getting his stomach scratched. He felt the Hufflepuff's hand leave him, making Sirius roll back onto his paws as stare up at the ginger.

Sirius couldn't really tell you why he was so taken with the mostly introverted Hufflepuff. He wasn't particularly outstanding and they've hardly ever spoke to one another, but if Sirius had to take a stab in the dark he'd assume it was Newt's natural affinity for caring about other species and the importance of understanding them. After all, it was one of the reasons why Sirius respected Hagrid so much.

It was no secret that Sirius thought Newt was extremely cute as well, what with his unruly locks of ginger hair and the dusting of boyish freckles covering his pasty cheeks. Newt just had the type of aura and charm that just pulled people towards him like a magnet and Sirius was affected greatly by it. But all reasoning escapes him as his more animalistic instincts cast a fog over his mind.

Without a second thought, Padfoot acted out on instinct and pounced on Newt, tackling the other student to the ground. Newt gasped at the sudden playfulness of the black dog. Sirius set out to start lapping at the flustered ginger's face, licking at warm freckled cheeks. Padfoot's tail wagged wildly, making his rear end move with it as he attacked Newt. Newt squealed as he tried to fend off the barrage of wet dog kisses, but not really.

Newt had a natural love for animals and beasts because of his mother and being showered with affection from a friendly dog only seemed to reaffirm that. The hearty laughter only urged Sirius to nuzzle and drench the redhead in more of his kisses. Despite the fact that Sirius was dousing the object of his affection in overzealous licks, there was the human part of him longing for more. Sure, he had his tongue all over Newt's face, but Sirius would rather kiss Newt more properly.

"Alright, alright," Newt defused with a calming voice as he gently pushed the dog off of him. Newt rubbed at his face, wincing when he attempts to wipe away all the dog slobber. "Look at the state of me! I suppose you're quite pleased with yourself?"

Padfoot barked in confirmation, ears bouncing slightly as he panted happily up at the adorable ginger before him.

"Oh? Is that so?" Newt replied, eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline.

The Animagus barked twice in response, then once more for good measure.

"Well then, can I get back to my reading?" Newt asked politely, uncaring that he was having a conversation with a dog.

Sirius panted and made a mild whining in the back of his throat, prompting sympathy from Newt.

"How about I read it out loud?" Newt suggested, stroking the side of the black dog's face tenderly. "Would you like that, boy?"

Padfoot's tail swung back and forth with excitement as he made a sound of approval. The Hufflepuff laughed to himself, taken with the dog's seemingly endearing nature, and picked up his copy of Slaughterhouse Five and began to read it to the animal. Sirius curled up beside the man resting against the trunk of the tree as Newt's voice lulled him into a state of serenity.

Newt propped open his book with one hand as the other absent-mindedly stroked at the dog's coal fur. Padfoot was never too big on reading, especially muggle literature, but the way Newt read made Sirius appreciate it a bit more. Admittedly, Sirius was drifting in and out of listening, his attention span weakened by the fact that he was in his Animagus form, but every so often a passage or two caught his ear.

"Billy had a framed prayer on his office wall which expressed his method for keeping going, even though he was unenthusiastic about living. A lot of patients who saw the prayer on Billy's wall told him that it helped them to keep going, too. It went like this," Newt recited, clearing his throat promptly. " _'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.'_ Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future."

Sirius would feel Newt shift from time to time as the ginger peered down to stare at the dog nestled at his side, smiling faintly before continuing.

"And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes," Newt read, a hint of sorrow in his voice.

As the afternoon slowly stretched on and Padfoot lay beside Newt, curled up in a ball of warmth nestled into the ginger, Newt's voice slowed and his yawns multiplied.

"All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber," Newt murmured out before nodding off under the isolated tree with the friendly dog practically burrowed in his lap.

Padfoot sensed the stillness of Newt's hand and the way his breathing evened out and looked imploringly up at the drowsy Hufflepuff. When Sirius was absolutely sure that Newt was fast asleep, he transformed back into his old self, hating how the warmth left his body as his fur slowly disappeared. He kneeled down beside the resting ginger, noting that his book had fallen out of his grasp.

Sirius retrieved the book, spying the page it rested on. There was an amature drawing of a headstone, adorned with an angel and a passage reading _"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt"_. Sirius frowned slightly, a little upset that Newt had lost his place when he dozed off. He hated to leave Newt like this, but his fellow classmate looked so at peace and beautiful that he didn't dare disturb him. Plus, Sirius wasn't ready to reveal himself to the Hufflepuff just yet.

After all, Sirius was all bark anyhow.

Instead, Sirius pulled out a scrap of parchment he's been holding onto for weeks now in hopes that he would finally have the courage to give it to Newt in person. But alas, here he was slipping the note into Newt's book and tucking it underneath one of the boy's arms as he slept soundly. Sirius stared at Newt for a moment longer, tenderly stroking the curls out of Newt's angelic face before standing up and silently making his retreat back towards school grounds to catch up with Moony, Wormtail, and Prongs.

It wouldn't be until shortly after Sirius' departure that Newt would awaken from his nap to find that he had drifted off again and the black dog was gone. Newt looked around haphazardly, trying to discern what time it was before retrieving his book. He stared down at it, catching a glimpse of paper poking out of one of the edges and turned to the pages it was nestled between.

Newt puzzled at the folded note in his hands, not having remembered if he put it there himself or not. He swiftly unfolded the paper, curious to read it's contents if there were any at all, and rubbed at his eyes to banish the grogginess away from them. His eyes scanned the messy scrawl on the piece of parchment, prompting Newt to smile warmly at what the note said.

 _You can call me Padfoot._

"Padfoot…" Newt murmured thoughtfully to himself, before tucking the note away in his book once more.


	2. Chapter 2

He knows he shouldn't be doing this. Like, he _shouldn't_ , because this is how unhealthy obsessions start, but what can he say? Sirius is absolutely entranced by the soft spoken, ginger haired boy that was far too precious for this world. Sirius told himself that this wouldn't become a _thing_ , purely a passing phase that would hold his attention for a week or two, but this particular day had been the turning point, so to speak.

Newt had grown fond of Padfoot instantly, but that was to be expected now wasn't it? Newt was the type of person that sought out lost souls in hopes of adopting them as his own before releasing them back into their natural habitat. One of the methods Newt used to gain a beast's trust were treats and seeing how Padfoot was of the canine persuasion, well…

It was not one of Sirius' finer moments.

There were a lot of things Sirius has done in his Animagus form, like grooming himself in unusual places he can't normally do as a human or that one time he had to make an emergency bowel movement on the Quidditch field because he knew he wouldn't be able to make it back to school grounds in time. There may have been a few regrettable toilet incidents as well because he was curious, but this had to be a new low. Even for Sirius.

It had been a lazy afternoon on the weekend and while James, Peter, and Remus had been off somewhere else, undoubtedly terrorising the school, Sirius snuck off saying he wasn't feeling very well and needed to go for a walk for some fresh air. Remus was initially concerned, but James wasn't having it. It took a sloppily executed vomit spell to convince the other guys, with James complaining about Sirius _getting sick on him_.

"Once Lily sees your face, I'd imagine she'll feel the same way," Sirius jeered with a fit of laughter, earning him a shove from Prongs.

"Prick," James muttered under his breath, but he didn't really mean it.

After their brief exchange, Sirius cautiously made his way out of sight of the other guys, playing it cool until he was certain it was safe enough to transform. Padfoot sprinted off to his and Newt's meeting place, tail already wagging with the anticipation of gentle palms and long, slender fingers caressing his body. Only Sirius had wished it wasn't in his Animagus form or strictly platonic, for that matter.

This time Newt had a leather bound notebook he was scribbling away in, most likely doodling away as he often does in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Not that Sirius spied on him during class or anything… He's just noticed it before is all. If Newt wasn't reading under the table, he was more often than not drawing strange beasts in his notebook. Everyone that sat in the general vicinity of the Hufflepuff could tell you that.

Padfoot approached the ginger haired boy, nudging at the notebook to get his attention. Newt acknowledged the black dog with a warm smile that could melt winter snow. He reached a hand out towards the dog to give him a soft ruffling on the top of his head, stroking his ears playfully when the Animagus showed his appreciation.

"Hello there, Padfoot," Newt greeted. Sirius panted up at him, tongue hanging out. Newt's face had been even more bright and lively today. "I've got a surprise for you."

Padfoot barked expectantly at Newt, resting back on his haunches to sit up straight as he waited patiently. Newt slid his sketching pencil into his notebook to save the page for later and set it aside in the grass. Sirius sat there as he watched Newt go rooting around in his pockets for the aforementioned surprise. What Newt could possibly have for him, Sirius did not know, but it was the thought that counted and it made his heart race with excitement.

Most of that excitement crashed and burned, however, when the fair skinned boy retrieved what he thought he might've misplaced. Padfoot's ears drooped by just a fraction when he saw Newt produce a handful of biscuits that looked suspiciously like dog treats. Sirius' stomach turned slightly, lurching with the notion that he might _actually_ feel sick this time.

"I got them from Hagrid," Newt admitted merrily, smile never faltering as he held them out towards Padfoot. "He's got loads of stuff like this."

Newt picked a biscuit out of his hand, a good sized one, and held it out towards the black dog with that goofy grin on his face. Sirius' eyes shifted from the dog treat and Newt's face a few times, Newt's offered hand floating suspended in the space between them as if it were crystallized forever in that moment. Newt's grin faltered only for a second when Padfoot didn't immediately snatch it up.

"Well, go on then, boy," Newt encouraged, shaking the treat as a little incentive. "You've been such a good friend to me, you deserve a reward for being so keen on me."

Newt didn't actually expect him to eat it, right? Surely he couldn't be serious? Geez, he could practically hear James and the others saying _"No, you're Sirius!"_ as this thought crosses him. Of all the damn names his parents could've given him…

"You needn't be afraid, Padfoot," Newt urged softly, using the gentlest of tones to bring Sirius' attention back to the matter at hand. "You've earned it, pal."

Hesitantly, and much to Sirius' chagrin, he sat up and leaned forward. He took a moment to nudge the dog treat with his snout, sniffing it precariously. Newt didn't rush him but simply held out his hand flat, presenting the treat as if it were the last of it's kind on the planet, and Sirius really wished it was, or a rare commodity. Everything inside him cringed at the idea of sinking this low, but the thought of seeing Newt frown or hurting his feelings didn't sit well with Sirius either. If not moreso.

Sirius messed up when he looked at the aloof Hufflepuff, feeling a tinge of guilt pull at his stomach from the honest and frank smile spread across Newt's face. Sirius swallowed his pride and dove in. Padfoot opened up his mouth and cocked his head to one side to get a better angle at the treat, being cautious so as not to accidentally nip at Newt's hand. The way the ginger's face lit up when Sirius accepted the treat made the Gryffindor's heart lurch.

There was nothing Padfoot could do but eat the dog treat.

"There you go, Padfoot!" Newt said as he watched the black dog chomp on the dog biscuit. A dumb smile on his face.

Sirius is not going to lie, if it weren't for his Animagus form this dog treat would've tasted a whole lot worse. Over time Sirius found out that things tasted differently as an animal and he guessed that made sense. When animals are hungry they're not exactly picky eaters and this was no exception. Still, the taste could take some getting used to, and by the looks of it if Sirius wanted to stick around Newt without revealing himself he'd have to make some sacrifices.

He stared at the grinning freckled face as he ground up and swallowed the dog treat, hating how grainy it went down but loving the excitement spreading throughout Newt. Just then Newt lunged forward, startling the Animagus for a brief moment, before throwing his arms around Padfoot's neck and hugging the big dog to his slim chest.

"Who's a good boy?" Newt exclaimed, planting tiny little pecks all over Padfoot's furry face and the top of his head.

Which was kind of dumb on Newt's part. For all he knew, Padfoot could've bit his face off without a second thought, but here was this eccentric Hufflepuff pushing the limits with strange animals. It wasn't long before Newt got Padfoot onto the ground and rolling over to get his tummy scratched by deft and delicate fingers. Newt was enthusiastic with his scratching, to say the least but Sirius wasn't complaining.

"Come on, who's a good doggie?" Newt continued to praise in what could only be described as a _baby voice_ , all while he scratched _that spot_ just below his ribcage and slightly off to the left. "You're a good doggie, aren't you? Aren't you, Padfoot?"

Padfoot could only respond with happy yips and hyperactive panting as his tongue lolled to and fro without restraint. His tail was also wagging and one of his hind legs was kicking involuntarily because Newt scratched _that spot_ just perfectly. Newt giggled madly at the sight of Padfoot losing himself in his barrage of praise and caressing. Sirius could get used to this if it meant he had to eat dog treats. Especially since _this_ was his reward.

Man, if only he wasn't in his damn Animagus form. Then again, with Newt's hands so close to certain areas, it's probably a good thing he's an animal right now.

After awhile of petting and scratching, Newt went tumbling to the ground in exhaustion. Newt sighed contently as he lay in the grass beside Padfoot, staring up into the afternoon sky as clouds passed overhead. It truly was a beautiful day and Newt just had a way of making it that much more exquisite. It was as if the world around him didn't exist for this one moment, like that passage Newt had read from that silly muggle book of his. Like he and Padfoot were just tiny insignificant creatures in a giant world of possibilities but, rather, chose to stay crystallized in this moment here and now.

"I'm so happy to have shared this afternoon with you, Padfoot," Newt confessed ardently, hands folded behind his head as he watched the clouds move and lose their shape before turning into something else entirely. "You always manage to raise my spirits. I know you must not understand, but a part of me hopes you're keen enough to sense just how happy you make me. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm glad to have met you, Padfoot."

Newt doesn't hear anything from beside him, not even a rustling of paws against grass, and he tried not to frown at the lack of response, but what could he say? Newt was talking to a _dog_ , and while most dogs were empathetic enough to pick up on human emotion there was no way Newt could see Padfoot understanding such complex feelings until…

"Padfoot?" Newt inquired, turning to look over towards where Padfoot laid.

Just then, Padfoot pounced on top of Newt, feeling particularly jovial and feisty as he went in to give the ginger haired boy sloppy dog kisses. This went on for a few moments more until Padfoot had conceded. Padfoot's paws were still planted firmly on Newt's chest as he just stared at the Hufflepuff. Newt gazed up at the animal on top of him, bewitched by what made this dog tick.

"You understand me, don't you?" Newt asked breathlessly.

Padfoot barked down at him in confirmation before plopping down to lay himself against Newt's chest. Sirius propped his head up on Newt's chest with his paws beneath his head and stared at the boy's imploring features. Newt furrowed his brows, stroking Padfoot behind the ears as they both just laid there in the grass silently transfixed by one another. Newt could lay here all day if he could, forever even. The black dog's eyes had a way of boring straight through Newt and it lulled him into a state of ease. Like nothing mattered. Just water off a duck's back.

"Such a curious beast you are, Padfoot," Newt murmured.

Padfoot yipped in response.

"Oh yeah?" Newt replied, smiling. He looked around him and sighed. "It's getting late, boy. I'll have to get going if I'm going to make it to supper."

Newt began to sit up, causing Padfoot to clamber off of him from the motion. Sirius let out a short whine, expressing his feelings on the matter, making Newt frown slightly with guilt.

"I know, I know… I'll be here tomorrow, though, and the next day and all the days after that," Newt promised in that soft, mild mannered tone of his that could charm the skin off a Basilisk. "I'll scratch you twice as long _and_ I'll even bring something better than dog treats for you next time if that pleases you."

Padfoot barked enthusiastically at him.

"I knew I could win you over with that," Newt stated with a satisfied chuckle. He bent down to level with the black dog and cupped the warm furry face in his hands, planting a small kiss right between those soulful eyes. "Such a good doggie."

* * *

Later that evening at dinner time, Sirius made sure to show up a little bit after Newt so as not to draw any suspicion, but that may be an over exaggeration on Sirius' part. There's no way his cover had been blown, even when his excuses for sneaking off were getting flimsier and flimsier by the day. Peter was essentially oblivious and Remus knew better than to pry into whatever business Sirius was up to. But there was only so much he could get past James before he found out.

And Sirius dreaded that eventuality.

Right now, however, Sirius was more interested in getting some supper in his stomach and getting the remnants of that dog treat out of his mouth. He took his seat next to Moony as always, greeting Wormtail and Prongs sitting across the table as he did. He pulled up a plate and set out to devour _everything_ in his field of vision, but of course James just _had_ to hassle him.

"You were gone a long time," James pointed out, starting conversation over the chatter of the rest of the room.

"I went on a long walk," Sirius retorted, stuffing his face with whatever meat he could get his hand on first.

"Feeling better then, ya?" Remus asked, concern creasing his features.

"You needn't worry about me Moony. I'm fine," Sirius promised, clasping Remus on the shoulder tenderly.

"You know what I think?" James asked rhetorically, causing all eyes to rest on his smug smirk. "I think you're hiding something from us."

"Hiding?! What have I possibly got to hide?" Sirius gushed, blushing ever so slightly as Prongs' accusing gaze rested solely on him.

"You got a girl you're not telling us about?" James questioned in a hushed tone, grilling Sirius for details.

"A girl? Don't be silly, James," Remus laughed nervously, ears burning as he spared a glance over at Sirius as if seeking out confirmation on the matter.

"What? It's a fair question, considering how much he's been ditching us lately," James teased, noticing the way Remus' face dropped fractionally. "I just want to know what's more important than _us_."

"You're being _dramatic_ , Prongs," Sirius brushed off, attempting to sound nonchalant.

" _Dramatic_? You're the one avoiding my question," James brought up, hint of a challenge in his voice. "If you've got nothing to hide, you wouldn't be so defensive."

"I'm not sneaking off to snog some girl," Sirius stated flatly and, technically, it was the truth. "Some of us have more than snogging on our minds… Unlike you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," James tittered. Typical response.

Remus seemed to heave a sigh of relief which puzzled Sirius a little and it seemed to appease the other guys too, but James still looked a little skeptical. Sirius spared a glance past James for a brief second, spying the curly ginger head of Newt Scamander sitting with the rest of the Hufflepuffs. He stared for a bit too long because Newt had raised his gaze over towards the Gryffindor table and locked eyes with Sirius.

Newt blinked over at him, blushing faintly when he realised he caught _the_ Sirius Black staring at him. Sirius averted his gaze out of embarrassment, cheeks turning pink at the memory of laying on top of the Hufflepuff. Sirius rubbed idly at his stomach, itching the spot just below his ribs and slightly off to the left, still feeling the way Newt had scratched him earlier.

"Are you alright, Sirius?" Peter inquired, noticing how his friend clutched at his stomach. "You don't look so well."

"Yeah, you look really pale," Remus added, frowning.

Sirius was brought out of his reverie from his friends concerned tones and returned back to planet Earth before James could call him out on something else and make wild accusations until something stuck.

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course," Sirius stammered, coming back to reality. "Just terribly famished is all."

It wasn't a lie either. All he had to eat was that dog biscuit Newt gave him earlier and Sirius remembered how that went.

The rest of dinner continued on with Sirius stuffing his face as his friends discussed their Potions homework and the Quidditch game against Ravenclaw coming up soon. Sirius offered his two cents every so often, but mostly focused on his supper, all while sparing a few wayward glances towards the Hufflepuff table. Newt would catch him staring and every time he'd give Sirius that inquisitive little look like the one the ginger had worn earlier when they laid in the grass together.

The staring hadn't made Newt _terribly_ uncomfortable, knowing Sirius was actively showing interest in him, but he didn't necessarily see it as a good omen either. Sirius and his friends were notorious for causing all sorts of mayhem around Hogwarts and Newt didn't want to be next on the list. A part of Newt enjoyed the attention, especially when it was coming from someone as cute and mysterious as Sirius Black. Still, Sirius wasn't making an effort to look away anytime soon and it made Newt shift in his seat nervously.

Unbeknownst to Newt, this would soon become a trend.


End file.
